The Flurria Effect
by SakariWolfe
Summary: Aerrow's been captured, and so has his old friend. Will the Storm Hawks be able to save them with the help of a mysterious squadron? You'll have to forgive me for the bad summary. Please read and review! Criticism welcomed!
1. Chapter 1

The Flurria Effect: Version 2!

Disclaimer: I don't own Storm Hawks. I do however, own my OCs. If you want to use them, just ask =3

I hope you all enjoy this new and improved version of The Flurria Effect!

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Aerrow, Radarr, Piper, Finn, and Junko flew silently across a clouded but warm sky. The ship they called home, the Condor, followed not too far behind.

"Where's this Cyclonian look-out post again?" Finn asked, eager to kick some cyclonian tail.

"We should be getting close. Their camp is on the most eastern side of Terra Flurria, hidden in the mountains somewhere." Piper explained. "Assuming my information is correct, the look-out post should be near by the camp."

"So, we find the camp, we find the post," Aerrow concluded.

"We're just going to fly around and keep looking until we find this place? That'll take _forever_!"

Piper shook her head at the teen. "No, Finn. Aerrow knows these mountains like the back of his hand."

The blond looked at Aerrow. "Seriously? Dude, how?"

"I used to live here, when I was seven. My best friend and I came into these mountains all the time. We didn't get to the northern part, though, seeing as I had to leave for the Academy."

Finn nodded understandably. "So what was his name?"

"_Her_ name was Sakari. Everyone just called her Ari."

"So a she, huh?" Fin smiled mischievously. "She a hottie?" That earned him an elbow to the ribs from Piper.

Aerrow simply laughed. "She's a flurrian, Finn. Not your species. Definitely not your type, either."

Finn scoffed. "Any lady is a Finnster's type of lady." He did his signature 'chicka-cha' move, then continued. "Anyway…what's a flurrian?"

"Flurrians are the people of Terra Flurria. They're kind of cat-like. Most of them have white fur with black patterns."

Piper cut in. "And, like our fingerprints, a flurrian's markings are always different than the next flurrian's." Finn rolled his eyes at Piper's know-it-all attitude.

Not wanting them to get off track too much – though they pretty much already did - Stork spoke through the crew's radio and changed the subject. "So, where do you think this Cyclonian post would be?"

Aerrow thought for a moment. "I would think they would set up camp somewhere open, maybe in a small valley. The post would be near there, probably at high altitude so they could see further. There's a valley around here somewhere, but I can't remember exactly where it's at." He looked down at the snow-capped mountains, hoping to come across it.

"How come we're taking down just the post, and not the camp?" Junko inquired.

"Because," the sky knight started, "there's no possible way that we could take down a whole _camp_. If we take out the look-out post, the camp won't know when an attack is coming."

"So…wait, I think I speak for both me and Junko when I say that I'm completely lost," Finn said, gaining a nod from the equally confused wallop. "Why should we take out the look-out post if we're not taking out the camp?"

Aerrow sighed, exasperated. "Alright, let me put this in terms that you can understand." Finn huffed at the comment, but let the red-head continue. "Think of this like a sky ball match; we have the ball right now. But there's no way we can get it into one of the goals; too many defense players. So what do we do?"

"Pass it," the sharp-shooter answered back.

"Exactly. But to pass it, we need an opening, right?"

Finn nodded.

"Well, this post is our opening. We need to get the defense players out so we can pass it to a team mate, which in this case, is the Sky Knight Council."

"Oh, I get it now! So we take out the post then let someone else take care of the camp!"

Piper sighed. "Only boys can convert a simple plan into sports."

"Yup!" Junko replied back with a huge grin.

"Hey, there's some smoke coming from over there," Finn called as he pointed over to the west. And in fact, there was a pillar of smoke bellowing up into the sky.

"Come on," Aerrow turned to his team, "let's go check it out."

The five of them flew over to the smoke, only to find a huge bonfire…with at least twenty Talons sitting around it. Many others were there also, tents and fire pits sticking out noticeably in the white snow.

Hearing the skimmers, the Talons glanced their way. Naturally they spotted them.

"Maybe we should get out of here…" Aerrow suggested, gaining nods from the rest.

The Storm Hawks swiftly turned their rides around, only to be met with a huge Cyclonian supply cruiser, at least seventy Talon switchblades swarming around it.

"Crud" was the only thing that could be heard as Atmosians and Cyclonians stared at each other.

Without warning, the Talons briskly started at the group.

"Fight with all you've got!" Aerrow shouted to his team. With that, the battle began.

The Cyclonian pilots were easily taken down, though some were more persistent than others. These were the ones that they were having trouble with.

Aerrow jumped from ride to ride, slicing the engines with his blades glowing blue.

Stork was just barely managing to escape the huge cruiser's blasts, a few hitting his precious ship.

Finn was shooting down rides left and right. But they were shooting back. Soon enough, Finn's ride was sliced and put out of commission. The blonde fell down towards the dramatic mountains below him with a girlish scream.

Junko smashed a few rides here and there, but he was having a bit of trouble with his turkey burps; they wouldn't fire. He was, once again, trying to get them to work when he heard his buddy's scream. With a gasp, he drove his ride at top speed towards his friend and caught him, unfortunately on a rather painful spot for Finn.

Piper was fairing well, her staff doing significant damage to the Talon rides. Seeing Finn fall rather unceremoniously onto Junko's ride, she couldn't help but give a small laugh. Without warning, her ride jostled and began to slowly loose alitude. She looked up; her propeller was spewing smoke, a few flames licking the sky above her. Another red blast came rolling out and hit the engine of her heliscooter. The thing went out of control, but luckily, the Condor was near by. She barely managed to get it safely into the garage of the ship.

Junko landed onto the Condor's launch pad and allowed a brief stop for Finn to get off before he flew back into the sky.

The tactician and sharpshooter ran into the helm; Finn started blasting at the cruiser with the Condor's cannons as Piper went over to the table and unrolled a map. Her mind was working overtime as she desperately tried to come up with a decent plan. Her thoughts were disrupted as an explosion and a despairing squawk from Radarr could be heard through the chaos.

Running to the window, her golden eyes went wide. Aerrow's skimmer plummeted down, a smoke trail following after it. She looked about, trying to find the teen, and hoped to whatever higher power above that he was alright. She spotted Radarr, who was floating down with his parachute open onto the snowy ground. Slightly relieved, she continued searching for her momentarily lost friend.

And that's when she saw him.

He was plummeting down towards the terra, unconscious, his glider wings flaming and his skin visibly burned. Piper gasped. Finn, from his vantage point on the canon, also saw the scene, his blue eyes widening and his mouth slightly agape.

They searched for Junko; he was flying as fast as he could to the motionless teen, but his hopes of saving him were dashed as a Talon swooped below the red head and caught him. All that the Storm Hawks could do was watch as their bloodied friend was taken away into the white of the falling snow with a group of retreating Talons, leaving the Storm Hawks without a Sky Knight and facing the rest of the cyclonian fighters.

They almost jumped multiple feet in the sky as a huge blast of a horn could be heard behind the Condor. Stork rushed over to the periscope and pulled it down. He searched around, and finally found the source: a small, tan, plated carrier was behind them, three menacing, huge blades decorating its underbelly. It was about the size of one of the Condor's blimps, but it looked like it could still do some serious damage. A dark, brown, claw-like symbol was printed on the side.

Stork's eye twitched as he saw the thing. "That better not be Cyclonian ship," he muttered.

Piper's thoughts were mutual. One casualty was enough for the group. The mystery ship slowly wafted past them into the battle.

With a large, garage-like door on the side lifting open, three skimmers flitted out.

Junko's worried – almost panicked- voice came onto the radio. "Um, are these guys on our side?"

Piper strode over to the receiver and replied back into it. "I don't know, Junko. They don't look Cyclonian, but still, be careful." With a small click, Junko ended the conversation and headed out to the dogfight once more.

The three pilots swiftly began to take down switchblades, not threatening the Storm Hawks in any way.

The deafening screech of metal on metal echoed through the air. Finn's eyes went wide as he looked over at the Cyclonian carrier. A small smile threatened to reached his face, despite the situation, and he continued blasting with newfound confidence.

The small ship had somehow managed to sink its razor-edged blades into the huge carrier's engines. Despite the size difference between the two vessels, the Cyclonian carrier took a beating from the impact. Its engines flickered and died. Multiple parachutes deployed further down as the crew baled out. The switchblades, their numbers now dwindling, vacated the area.

A small red light began to flash on the Condor's dashboard. "They're hailing us?" Piper muttered, more to herself than to anyone around her.

"I'm assuming you're an Atmosian crew?" a blunt voice came on. It sounded male, and had a hint of authority in it. Definitely a sky knight.

"Maybe," Stork answered back.

The voice gave a small chuckle, an odd sound compared to his apparent serious persona. "Don't worry; we're not Cyclonians. We're on your side."

"Then who are you?"

"The Congo Claws squadron," a new, female voice answered back. "Permission to board? Or maybe just meet? Maybe we could help with repairs. Your ship looks pretty damaged." It was true. Surprisingly enough, the Condor took a beating from that supply carrier.

Piper quickly came over to the radio before Stork could say anything. "Depends. How can we trust you?"

The sky knight's voice came back on. "I give you my word as a Sky Knight."

Piper contemplated the answer for a moment, but swiftly made a decision. "Fine. Meet us down on the terra."

Stork shot her an incredulous look, and started to say something about not trusting a stranger's word, but she held up her hand before he could say anything. "Stork, we'll be fine. I've heard of the Congo Claws before. They're no longer a true squadron seeing as how their terra is now ruled by Cyclonia, but that doesn't mean we can't trust them."

Stork mumbled something under his breath, but landed the Condor onto the snowy ground below them without a fight. The Congo Claws' ship followed suit.

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Hehe, hope it was a tad bit better than the first one I put up.

Please review! I would love to know if anyone still cares about this fic :3


	2. Chapter 2

Yay, second chapter 8D Enjoy!

I don't own Storm Hawks, but I do own my OCs. If by the off-chance that you'd want to use them, just ask!

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Stirring up a cloud of white snow, the Condor and Steppe-Eagle – as the Congo Claws had called their ship – landed softly onto the terra.

Everyone donned in patched-up jackets and boots, the Storm Hawks stepped out. The Congo Claws, also with winter gear, walked out into the cold to meet them.

Having seen the ship land, Radarr bounded over to Piper and hopped onto her shoulder. The little sky monkey seemed a bit shaken over Aerrow's capture, but other than that, he looked genuinely unscathed.

After gently scratching the little animal under the chin, Piper was the first to speak up. "Hello then. I'm assuming you're the Congo Claws?"

One member of the group, obviously the sky knight, stepped forward with a curt nod. "Yes, we are. A pleasure to meet you, Storm Hawks. I'm Gannet, leader of this team." The sky knight, Gannet, looked to be around twenty or twenty-one years old. He had strawberry-blond hair, which was styled into small spikes, a bit like Finn's. The sky knight had a small goatee on his chin. His figure could be considered lithe, but he looked to be quite strong none-the-less. A machete-like sword was slung across his back, a green stryker crystal in its hilt.

Piper gave a nod back. "I'm Piper, navigator and second-in-command. This is Radarr, co-pilot; Finn, wingman; Junko, mechanic; and Stork, pilot." She pointed to each as she introduced them. "Our sky knight is named Aerrow, but he was captured by that Cyclonian camp. Who knows where he is right now…" she trailed off, obviously anxious to get her injured friend back.

Gannet nodded sympathetically. "Yes, one of ours was taken as well. But we have an idea of where they are; we believe any prisoners are being held on the other side of the terra, at their main camp." He looked lost in thought for a moment, but quickly snapped back. "Oh, where are my manners?" He motioned to his team, and introduced them to the Storm Hawks. "This is Sabine, our co-pilot; Tern, our wingwoman; and Manx, our mechanic. Our pilot was the one taken."

Piper nodded, and the two quickly engaged in conversation about how they could go about patching up the ships, and possibly working together to get their two teammates back to safety. Drifting out of the conversation, Stork curiously looked them all over.

Sabine, the co-pilot, was very petite, and also very young. She looked to be only thirteen or fourteen. Her eyes were an intense navy-blue, and her hair was dark brown. She looked up at the merb, feeling his gaze, then quickly looked away. The girl was obviously quite shy.

Tern surprised him a bit. She wasn't human, that was for sure. She looked like a terradon, but instead of having spikes like most raptors had, her head was instead adorned with a slightly webbed crest. Her eyes were slit-pupiled and a pale yellow, with her skin a scaled, olive-green. An energy gun was clipped to her side. The raptor-thing looked up at Stork coldy, and held her stare. Her tail flickered back and forth agitatedly. Stork had to avert his gaze. This Tern seemed to be quite untrusting. That, or else she just had something against merbs.

Manx, the mechanic, looked a bit scrawny despite his job title. He had dark, grey-blue hair, and looked to be around the same age as Gannet and Tern; twenty, maybe twenty-one. His eyes were honey-coloured; lighter than Piper's, but considerably close to the same colour. He had a pair of goggles pulled up to the top of his head, and wore a small dagger on the side of his leg. It was powered by some green crystal; not a stryker, but one that worked none the less. The mechanic looked up at Stork nonchalantly. From what the merb could tell, Manx seemed to be quite care-free, and maybe a bit lazy.

Stork was snapped out if his examination as he heard Piper ask a question he was curious about as well.

"Any ideas on why the Cyclonians are here in the first place?" she asked.

"Not a clue. We've come up with our share of theories, but none seem to fit," Gannet replied back.

Sabine glanced up. "Well, there _was_ that one story about that stupid crystal."

Gannet shot her a look. The co-pilot visibly shrunk back behind Tern at the Sky Knight's cold gaze. "Sabine, that's just one of the Flurrians' many stories," he said with a hint of disgust. "Nothing to take seriously."

Sabine nodded and shrunk back further, if possible.

Piper, ignoring the obvious hostility between the two Congo Claws, disagreed. "Even if it _is_ just some story or superstition, it wouldn't hurt to look into it. What is this story, anyway?"

Gannet looked unsure, but divulged the details none-the-less. "There's an old tale that the Flurrians cooked up a few centuries back. There's some long story to the history of it that I honestly have no interest in. The 'important' part of it would be the _crystal_ in the story."

"Crystal?" Piper asked, intrigued. Finn rolled his eyes at the girl. Of _course_ she'd be interested in some sort of crystal, even if it was just part of a myth.

"All we really know of the legend is that the Flurrians think there's a powerful crystal in the mountain range somewhere. It was said that it had enough power to wipe out full terras in one blow. However, it apparently could create prosperity, as well. It could bless full cities with large crops and good weather, with no catch. It's no wonder why so many think the Cyclonians would want such a thing. It could very well let them win the war," Gannet explained. "Just a bunch of superstitious words, of course," he added quickly.

"Of course," Piper agreed, though she made a note of the idea. _Who knows_, Piper thought to herself, _it could be true. After all, the Flurrians aren't known for making up things._

Apparently Sabine had the same line of thinking. "But, if it really _is_ out there somewhere, would it really be a bad thing to look for it? I mean, if the Cyclonians found it, it would be the end for a lot of us."

Gannet shot another cold gaze at the girl. "Sabine…" he started, his tone alerting most of the Storm Hawks. He sounded just about ready to strangle his co-pilot.

Though surprised at the Sky Knight, Piper quickly intervened. "No, no, she has a point. We definitely do _not_ need the Cyclonians to have something like _that_ in their possession." Sabine looked up at Piper gratefully. Obviously, there was something between Sabine and Gannet, though the crystal expert decided that it was none of her business.

"I agree," Tern cut in. "However, now that our friend is missing, we have a new priority."

Manx, who had remained quiet throughout the previous conversation, finally joined in. "Hey, you guys want to help us? We'd probably have a better chance with another team at our side."

Almost expecting Gannet to get angered at the mechanic like he had at Sabine, Piper was surprised to see him nod. "Yes, we would very much appreciate it if you did. We would get _your_ friend out as well, of course."

Piper thought for a moment, then turned to the rest of the Storm Hawks. "What do you guys think?"

Stork's eye twitched. "I think you _know_ what I think."

Ignoring Stork's statement, Finn and Junko shrugged. "Fine by us," the blond replied.

Piper nodded. "Alright then. We'll gladly work with you all."

Gannet smiled approvingly. "Great! Then we should get started right away." He began sending out orders to his crew, giving each a job to help with the Condor's repairs. Piper turned around and nodded to the remaining Storm Hawks to follow. She started walking back towards the ship, the other three following.

She couldn't help it as a small, pessimistic thought flitted through her mind.

_We have to hurry. Or we may end up being too late._

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Two cyclonian goons roughly threw a bloodied and unconscious Aerrow into a small cell. They bitterly laughed at the teen's predicament, then went on their way.

A petite, shadowed figure waited for them to leave as she kept in the corner. Her cat-like white tail flickered behind her. She watched them leave, her aqua eyes hard with anger, and cautiously made her way towards her new red-headed cellmate. She tried shaking him awake, but got no response. She checked his vital signs; they were a bit weak, but they were there none-the-less. Carefully, she lifted him up onto the only bunk in the cell. She lifted a furry eyebrow at the teen's light weight. "You need to eat a bit more," she muttered, her voice a bit husky through its peculiar accent. After making sure she did all she could for the injured Sky Knight, she slid down against the wall, and sat with a huff. She gazed sympathetically back at the unconscious Aerrow one last time before closing her eyes and getting some rest herself.

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Tada! Hope you like it!

Please review! If there's anything you think I should fix, speak up! Ya here? 8)


	3. Chapter 3

Welcome to Chapter 3. Enjoy!

I don't own Storm Hawks, but I do own my original characters.

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Aerrow slowly awoke, a headache ripping its way through his mind. He tried opening his eyes, but they wouldn't comply. He could feel his whole body pulsating with pain, his back and shoulders in particular. The red-head shifted, and immediately regretted it as his bare, burned skin rubbed against the metal below him.

_Wait a minute,_ he thought wearily, _where's my shirt? And why am I on metal?..._

He finally persuaded his green orbs to open, but as he tried to swivel his head to look around, his head throbbed even worse than before. He quietly groaned and shut his eyes tight.

"Well, well, look who's awake."

His gaze shot open as he heard a female voice. "Relax," he heard it say. "I'm not going to hurt you."

As a silhouetted figure made her way over to him, he finally saw the source. A female flurrian, no doubt about it. Looking to be around seventeen, white fur could be seen everywhere on her body, grey spots and stripes within it. Her ears where pointed and laid back like a wolf's, but the rest of her features looked extremely cat-like, including the black-tipped tail that swayed gracefully behind her. Her turquoise eyes looked dull against the lack of light in the small place. She spoke again, her voice soft with a hint of an unknown accent. "I apologize about your shirt, but it had to be taken off; it was already in tatters, and it was sticking into your wound."

The last statement confused Aerrow. He knew he hurt, but a wound? What was she talking about?

The red-head's expression must have shown his thoughts. Silently, the girl walked over to him, the claws on her paw-like feet clicking against the hard metal floor. She gently swiped a furry finger against his shoulder, making Aerrow wince. Looking him straight in the eye, she showed him her now blood-stained finger. A few specks of burnt flesh could also be seen. Aerrow's eyes slightly widened, surprised.

"What happened?" he asked, his voice husky and painfully quiet.

"Well," she started, "I'm not sure how, but you managed to get yourself burned up pretty badly. I'm going to assume the Cyclonians did that. From what I've been able to see, the burn on your back is the worst. It extends up to both your shoulders. You don't seem to have any fractures, which is good, but you may have a concussion." She sat softly beside him.

Aerrow gave a small nod, careful of his throbbing head. He looked back up at the ceiling. "So we're in a prison, then?"

The flurrian nodded and gazed out through the bars.

Aerrow sighed and closed his eyes. "Thank you," he said.

She looked back up at him. "For what?"

"For helping me," he replied back simply.

"I didn't do much."

He turned his head towards her. "But you've done all you can for me. So, thanks."

She smiled at him, but it faltered slightly. "Do you recognize me?"

This confused the Sky Knight. "Should I?"

Her eyes became laden with some unknown emotion, but she quickly shook her head. "Never mind. You should probably get some rest."

Aerrow, though still contemplating her question, silently complied. He turned his head back up to face the ceiling and closed his eyes. He drifted off into unconsciousness within minutes.

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Ah, yeah, kind of short. Sorry.

Please review, if you'd be so kind! Please! (I really need to know if people still read this; otherwise, it'd be kind of pointless to keep writing, ya know?)


	4. Author's Note! Important!

Dear Readers,

So sorry I haven't updated in forever! I honestly wouldn't blame you if you didn't even give this author's note the time of day. But if you wouldn't mind, I could _really_ use some plot help here.

As you could probably guess, I've hit some major writer's block with this fic. I really don't want to drop it, though.

So! If anyone out there as _any_ ideas as to where I should go with this story, please send me a PM! (I would really like it if you didn't send me an idea through a review, simply because it might ruin it for other readers if I end up using that idea, ya know? Er, not trying to be picky!). I would most definitely give you credit for the idea, and even if I don't use an idea you send me, I'll still be sure to name you in the next chapter!

Please help if you can! And thank you all for your wonderful reviews! They really make my day! :3

Sincerely,

SakariWolfe


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